TV chef: Johann Lafer hardly eats meat anymore

2023-08-02 12:37:59

TV chef Johann Lafer hardly eats meat anymore

TV chef Johann Lafer has changed his diet. photo

© Tim Vogel/dpa

Severe knee problems and arthrosis were the reasons for Johann Lafer to change his diet. Now there are the right recipes for it.

TV chef Johann Lafer hardly eats meat anymore. “If I eat meat today, it has to be something very special and then only in small quantities and on special occasions. I do it similarly with other animal products,” explained the 65-year-old, who comes from formats such as “Lafer! Lights ! Yummy!” is known. That’s for health reasons. “In 2015 I had to undergo knee surgery due to severe osteoarthritis. The recovery was very difficult and I did everything I could to prevent this from having to repeat a process on the other knee.”

Together with nutritionist Petra Bracht and pain specialist Roland Liebscher-Bracht, Lafer is bringing out the non-fiction book “Eating Against Pain. The Cookbook” this Wednesday.

The switch away from meat was “very difficult for Lafer as a cook, connoisseur and gourmet”, as he reported in retrospect. “I always had Horst Lichter’s quote in my head: ‘A steak under 400 g is carpaccio!’ In order to follow this change consistently, the only thing that helped me was the awareness ‘It’s good for you!’ At the latest when I started in In Shanghai, looking after the world’s best tennis players at the Shanghai Masters, I realized that vegan food from time to time is a great basis for success in top-class sport,” said Lafer. “Obviously these players know from experience which diet they perform best on.”

The reason for the change in diet was “solely the constant pain” “and taking painkillers and additional tablets for the stomach to protect it from the painkillers. That was no longer a quality of life and I wanted to after more than 40 years in my job enjoy a few more good years, as pain-free as possible, be able to move normally again and, above all, be in a good mood.”

Petra Bracht, Johann Lafer, Roland Liebscher-Bracht: Eating against pain, ISBN 978-3-8338-9079-6, Verlag Graefe & Unzer, 34 euros

dpa